Some Things Are Worth Dying For
by Invaderk
Summary: [JPLE]As the title suggests, some things are just worth the effort! No actual death here, just the idea of it.


A/N: There are some points in life in which I wish I could shoot my plot bunny and strangle my muse. Unfortunately, the coming of this story sparked one of those times. I wrote this once, disliked it, erased it, wrote it again, realized it should be completely reversed, erased it again, and finally wrote this. So, in conclusion, this little oneshot took me FOREVER to write (and I'm really not that pleased with it, actually, but I'll leave the verdict to you readers). This is a repost, in which I fixed a few errors and added _FIN_ at the end, because I have OCD and need it to be there. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing... especially not Harry Potter

Happy Reading!

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**Some Things Are Worth Dying For**

The first time that the Death Eaters invaded Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was actually not on that fateful day in Harry's sixth year. In fact, the day was back when Lily and James were still alive, back in their last year at Hogwarts. Voldemort had been growing stronger all the while and the people of the world had begun to panic. The attack took place on a rather quiet, stormy day, which seemed to fit the grim mood that the people of the nation were feeling.

James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew had no such qualms, however. The quartet was sitting on the floor of the boy's dormitory, playing Exploding Snap. The door to the dormitory burst open and Lily Evans emerged from outside, panting and clutching a stitch in her side. Sirius, who was missing an eyebrow, spoke first.

"What's up, Lily?"

Lily was bent over double, trying to catch her breath and trying to speak at the same time.

"Death Eaters… in castle… need to fight…"

The boys had jumped up as soon as the word 'castle' had escaped from her lips. The five of them pelted down into the main entrance hall to see what was going on. Students and professors alike were running to and fro, dodging hexes and curses coming from the masked Death Eaters. James withdrew his wand and started giving orders.

"Sirius, so head off the one over there! Remus, go with Peter and try to help McGonagall. Lily –"

James cut off and stared at her solemnly. Lily knew exactly what he was thinking, and didn't want to hear it.

"I'm going to fight, James," Lily assured him sternly, "and nothing you say will stop me."

James sighed.

"I know," he said, deflecting a curse that bounced his way, "Just – just be careful, alright?"

Lily nodded. James kissed her and then sprinted off to assist Dumbledore. Lily sprinted forward to go after him and help, too, but she was soon locked in combat with some female Death Eater with terrible aim. They battled for a few minutes before the Death Eater suddenly fell to the ground, bleeding profusely from the ears. Lily looked up. It was Severus, standing there with his wand tip smoking slightly.

"Nice one," Lily gasped, pushing the Death Eater onto her back to admire Severus' handiwork.

"Thank you," he replied shortly, and darted off in another direction.

The Order of the Phoenix was losing the battle, and badly at that. One member had actually been killed, while numerous other members and students lay on the ground, injured and unconscious. Lily frantically searched for James, and found him with Sirius and Remus. Peter had been knocked out and Remus had taken the liberty of hiding his body from the Death Eaters before they could kill him.

As the quartet was sprinting down the hall with Sirius in the lead, something caught Lily's eye. A something draped in black and wearing a mask. Lily gave an exclamation and darted off in the direction of the Death Eater, who seemed to be trying to force his or her way into the Headmaster's office. Just as Lily arrived there (closely followed by the boys), Severus jumped down from the top of the staircase and attempted to join the Death Eater in battle. The Death Eater, who seemed to have been alarmed by the sudden appearance of five teenagers, shot a blue hex at the first person they saw.

Lily, who had been in the lead, felt the curse hit her squarely in the stomach and was suddenly blinded by a terrible pain. She felt as if her insides were being ripped open, as if she was going to die… and then there was nothing. Lily collapsed onto the floor, unconscious, never hearing James' frantic cry or the Death Eater falling to the ground, stupefied.

The corridor was suddenly incredibly silent. James gasped and dropped his wand, then fell to his knees in front of the redhead. He checked for a pulse.

"She's alive,' he breathed, looking up and seeing that Remus, Sirius, and even Severus was sprinting over, "She's alive! Where's Madam Pomfrey?"

"Knocked out," Remus said, dropping to his knees, also, "What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing looks any different," said Sirius quietly, "Has she got a pulse?"

James nodded and felt for it again. It was there, though weak and erratic. Lily's breathing was shallow, though she looked only as if she had been sleeping. James closed his eyes and swallowed hard, not wanting to face the truth – that nobody could help Lily Evans – when suddenly, a voice came out.

"I can help her."

James spun around to see Severus, standing with his wand by his side. James shared a look with Remus, who nodded curtly. James stepped aside and beckoned Severus fourth. Severus dropped to his knees in front of Lily and performed a number of charms under his breath. Lily's body glowed gold for a moment, then paled and went back to its normal state. He nodded to himself, his thin lips pursed and his eyes grim. All the while, the sounds of battle could be heard at a distance.

"I can help her," Severus said softly, "But I need a place to work, somewhere away from the battle."

Sirius jumped to his feet.

"Come on, I know a place."

James picked up the unconscious Lily and darted after Sirius, with Remus and Severus at his heels. They ran down one corridor, than another, until they reached an empty classroom. Sirius looked around once to make sure that they were not being watched, and then tapped the door with the tip of his wand. The lock clicked and Sirius held open the door, allowing the others entry. Once inside, Sirius jumped up onto a desk and beckoned Remus to follow. Remus clambered up and onto Sirius' shoulders, and then placed his hands on the nearest ceiling tile. It gave way with a heave and Remus pushed it aside, exposing a gap in the ceiling. Severus darted forward now, and climbed up into the hole, closely followed by James, and finally Lily (who was heaved through the gap rather than climbing up by herself).

"What is this place?" Severus breathed, looking around in obvious mystification.

The room was incredibly small with an even lower ceiling, so that the men had to bend over to stand. The room itself was empty except for a sink and a large trunk that sat in the corner.

"It's just a place that I found," James said, carrying Lily across the tiny room with his head bent low, "One of the perks of being sneaky. See that trunk there? It's got all sorts of potions in there. I'm not much of a hand at potions, but you are, so…"

James broke off and placed Lily gently on the ground. He straightened up and set his jaw. Severus, who had not moved or spoken upon entry, suddenly felt an air of foreboding coming from James.

"Snape, I swear, if you – violate and or harm her in _any_ way, your intestines will be wrapped around your throat. Do you comprehend?"

"I think I can handle it, Potter," Severus snapped moodily.

James and Severus stared at each other with dislike for a moment more before James nodded and dropped to his knees in front of Lily. He pushed her hair away from her pale face and kissed her gently upon the forehead.

"I love you, Lily," James said quietly, and then stood.

He brushed past Severus and jumped back down into the classroom. James nodded once to the others, and they all left. Once Severus heard the lock click, he pushed the tile back over the ceiling. The room, which had been previously bathed in a pale light from the classroom, was suddenly plunged into darkness. Severus straightened up and whacked his head on the low ceiling.

"Ouch! Dammit – _lumos_!"

I bright light engulfed the room, causing Severus to blink several times. Rubbing the top of his head where a nice bump was forming, he strode forward and dropped to his knees in front of Lily, pausing for a moment to conjure several floating candles. Then he set to work. For what felt like the tenth time, he checked for a pulse and found one, though it was very faint.

Severus placed his fingertips lightly on Lily's abdomen, and then recoiled quickly; her robes were soaked, presumably with blood. He quickly unbuttoned the front of her cloak and found his suspicions to be confirmed; blood was slowly spreading over the front of her blouse. He closed his eyes and swallowed.

"Oh boy," he said to himself, "Oh, here we go."

Severus unbuttoned the bottom button of the blouse and continued up until he was at the base of her ribcage, where he decided he needn't go further for many reasons. The gashes that ripped diagonally across her abdomen, though, were too terrible for even Severus to want to keep his eyes on. They were deep and bleeding profusely, causing Lily's stomach to look more like a red, overflowing puddle. Severus, praying that Lily had no diseases, began to try and work the knowledge he had obtained on dark hexes. This particular hex, it seemed, left wounds that did not want to heal. Severus tried every charm he could think of, but nothing could stop the flow of blood, nor could it heal the wounds.

Severus wiped away the sweat on his face with the back of his blood-coated hand; the room was stifling, as was the work that he was trying to do. He looked around the room desperately and his eyes fell upon the large trunk. He got up, opened the trunk, and found that it was full of vials. He ran through the vials until he found one labeled "Serious/Deadly Gashes". Severus raised his eyebrows and studied the purple liquid inside the vial; he went over its properties and finally chuckled darkly to himself.

"Well isn't that convenient?"

Severus walked back over to Lily, bent low to avoid re-hitting the lump on the top of his head, and dropped to the floor. He uncorked the vial and held it out over the lesions, through one of which Severus was sure that he could see a rib.

"Well, here goes… something."

He let the contents of the vial pour over Lily's wounds and got the first conscious reaction from Lily since she had been hit. Lily gasped and clenched her fists, though her eyes remained closed. Severus leaned away from Lily in alarm, watching as the flow of blood halted and the wounds healed over. Slowly but surely, the wounds healed and Lily's breathing became more consistent. She opened her eyes.

"What happened?" Lily asked groggily, reaching up and placing a hand on her sweaty face.

Severus got up, went over to the sink, ripped off a piece of his sleeve, and soaked it in cold water. He crept back over to Lily and placed the wet material on her brow. Lily looked up at him in slight confusion.

"What happened, Snape?" Lily asked again, and this time Severus made eye contact with her. "Where am I? Where's James?"

"I don't know."

"But surely you must! What's happened with the battle? Where is James?"

"I don't know."

Lily growled in frustration and attempted to sit up, but Severus forced her roughly back down.

"Stay down!" He commanded, "The battle is still on. I don't know about Potter or his friends, and we're in some secret room. You got hexed, and I didn't just spend my precious time getting you to come around so that you can jump back into battle without being properly cared for first! You will take a blood replenishing potion before you do anything else; in case you haven't noticed, I've just about been swimming in your blood for nearly a half hour."

Lily looked slightly taken aback. She watched as Severus went back over to the trunk and plucked out a vial of red potion. He came back over and dropped to his knees in front of her yet again, and forced her into a sitting position. The fabric fell off her forehead, but Lily didn't feel that arguing with Severus was such a good idea at this particular moment. Severus uncorked the vial and brought it to her lips. Lily spluttered and coughed as the liquid burned and sizzled down her throat, but she already felt stronger.

"I want – _need_ – go… now." Lily said weakly, coughing more and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, "I want… to fight."

Severus stared down at her in scorn as he buttoned her blood-stained blouse.

"Are you some kind of fool?" Severus sneered, "If you go out there, you'll probably die."

Lily watched him with a strange glint in her eye, breathing heavily as she fell back upon the floor. She roughly pushed her red hair out of her face.

"Have you ever wanted something so badly that you'd give anything for the cause?"

Severus looked at her and saw her green eyes dancing with determination and passion, her jaw set and her hair plastered to her forehead.

"Yes," he replied quietly, slowly.

Lily sat herself up and pulled her cloak on. She stood, leaving Severus to kneel upon the dusty ground with his brows furrowed. She straightened her cloak and drew her wand as she kicked away the trap-tile.

"Some things are worth dying for," Lily said, and was gone.

o0o0o

_FIN_

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A/N: Like I said; I've done better. Though I do like the quote at the end, and there's no way I'm doing a sequal, because it is obvious that Lily and James and co. live to get a part in Philosopher's Stone! WoOt!

And here, as before, I must advertise my webite.(Insert cheeky advertisement here). Yeah, the link is all over my profile, FYI. Thanks!


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